Experts weigh in on
N.H. gay marriage question
By Beverley Wang, AP
from boston.com on the Web, September 13, 2005
CONCORD, N.H. Sept.12 --A
state commission studying the legal aspects of allowing same sex unions got an
earful Monday from doctors, writers and others hoping to sway the board.
"You have heard people tell you that children and even the social institution of
the family will be irreparably hurt if gay and lesbian parents are given the
rights and responsibilities of civil marriage," Tufts University pediatrician
Ellen Perrin told the commission during a public hearing.
But "there are just no scientifically sound studies that provide evident of any
harm to children based on their parents being the same sex," said Perrin, an
expert on the children of homosexual parents.
Perrin said children's development and resilience relies on the stability and
permanence of their parents' relationship. She said it doesn't make sense
to create obstacles to that for homosexual couples.
Maggie Gallagher, a syndicated marriage columnist who once was paid by the Bush
administration to promote the president's marriage agenda, agreed that parental
bonds are important to a child's development, but said heterosexual marriage is
the "gold standard" a family relationships and should not be tinkered with.
"It's not fair to describe this research as saying two parents do better than
one," she said.
Gallagher said the children of families where their parents are unmarried, or
divorced and remarried, also do not fare as well as nuclear families.
"The family structure that helps children the most is a family headed by two
biological parents in a low conflict marriage," she said. "For all the
talk of marriage protecting children, it's not even clear to me how the law of
marriage is going to protect children in same sex unions."
But Perrin said studies comparing the children of lesbian and heterosexual
mothers' found no difference in the children's self esteem, academic achievement
or ability to make friends. The parent-child relationship is a greater
influence on child development than a parent's sexual orientation, she said.
The commission, which is studying all aspects of gay marriage and civil unions,
has been taking public testimony on the issue for months.
Its final report is due in December.
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